Amalgamated Bank Lowers Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,031 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,841,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $623,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $7,332,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 107,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $459.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $491.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $504.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $510.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.